No, this whisky is not 175 year old as you might guess (a wee bit too much of maturation LOL), but rather a special 175 year anniversary bottling. Glenfarclas Distillery was first licensed in 1836 and to mark the 175th year of operation, this expression was released. It is really a vatting quite a few casks from different decades : the oldest cask from 1952 and three casks from each of the following five decades were all vatted together to produce this limited edition (6,000) bottles.
Glenfarclas being one of my favorite distilleries out there, I knew I had to get my hands on a bottle, and happily I was able to do so, demand was not very high for some reason, and there are some bottles still available (here for example).
Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary, 43% ABV , 6,000 btl, £80
Nose: We’re definitely in ‘Farclas’ land. Big sherry notes and a lot of dried fruit . mainly plum juice and some dates as well. hints of coffee, leather and old oak. Some oranges too. Very nicely layered. The different notes from the old and young casks are all noticeable. Great and quite complex nose.
Palate: On initial swirling in the mouth it starts less sweet as expected with double espresso and some prune juice to balance that. Some spices with cinnamon and orange peel follow later.
Finish: Chocolate and fruity finish. Sherry, kirsch and dark chocolate coated nuts.
A very good dram, displaying complexity, and adhering to the Glenfarclas profile, if a bit more on the sweet/sour side.
Good review Gal. I was lucky enough to get myself a bottle, while it was quite instantly sold out over here ! Tasted it allready in a Glenfarclas masterclass where it got a bit lost in the power off very beautiful and old Farclasses.
Hi Gal,
I just found your page accidentally today, otherwise we’d be great friends by now!
I was given this whisky as a gift (bottle No. 798), and quite agree with you that it’s a wonderful product. The only difficulty is trying to think up another “special occasion” to use as an excuse to have another sip.
You’re welcome to join me if you happen to be up North – I’m in Maalot.
John (Yonatan) Kent
Cool. I will